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We are proud to participate in iGEM 2013 and are excited to present
Taxi.Coli.
Taxi.Coli is a highly flexible and adaptable smart drug delivery system.
We want to use E.coli as a Taxi, that expresses streptavidin on its surface as Seats for the Passengers, which are the biotinylated nanoparticles that contain a drug. Once Taxi.Coli arrives at the Address, a specific environment, it will produce an enzyme that degrades the nanoparticles, releasing the incorporated drug the passenger gets out of the car.
Our effort will be limited to a proof of principle, but one can imagine a wide range of future applications.

Project

Team

Safety

Outreach

Tweets by @iGEM_EPFL

Achievements:

- We can produce biotinylated nanoparticles
- We can engineer E.coli expressing streptavidin (maybe even on the surface) to bind these nanoparticles
- We can engineer E.coli to sense different values of pH
- We can make E.coli express superfolded GFP constitutively
- We can excite other students about synthetic biology

Please also visit our Facebook page!

Medal requirements

Bronze medal

• We registered the team and had fun in the competition.
• We filled in the Judging form.
• We described our project using the iGEM wiki and our parts using the Registry of Standard Biological Parts.
• We plan to present a poster and talk at the iGEM Jamboree in Lyon.
• We designed and submitted the following Biobricks BBa_K1111001, BBa_K1111002, BBa_K111103, BBa_K1111004, BBa_K1111005, BBa_K1111006, BBa_K1111007, BBa_K1111008, BBa_K1111009, BBa_K1111010, BBa_K1111011, BBa_K1111012, BBa_K1111013, BBa_K1111014.

Silver medal

• We experimentally validated that the Biobrick BBa_K1111005 works as expected.
• We documented all our parts on the iGEM Registry of Standard Biological Parts.
• We investigated the safety issues which could be raised by our project. Take a look at our safety page.

Gold medal

• We improved the function of the already existing Biobrick BBa_K523013 by extensively characterizing and documenting it. This will help future teams to use it.
• We prepared an amazing synthetic biology kit which will be used at public events and high school visits at EPFL. Take a look at our Outreach page.
• We organized a women and engineering's day at our university to promote women in science.




European Jamboree Results

• SILVER MEDAL
• ADVANCE TO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP





Thanks to our sponsors

Many thanks to our sponsors who made it possible for us to take part in this amazing competition.